Chest on (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, chest on describes the position of a bowler or batsman. The term is used interchangeably with front on.

Chest on bowling

A chest on bowler has chest and hips aligned towards the batsman at the instant of back foot contact. West Indian bowling legend Malcolm Marshall was a classic example of a chest on bowler.

Chest on batting

Certain shots, such as the pull shot are played chest on - that is, with the chest facing the bowler. Generally though it is preached that batting is a side on art. Most shots such as forward defence, backward defence and front and back foot drives are taught with a side on technique. However, there are sound arguments supporting the use of a chest on technique for some shots. One example is a chest on forward defense used against a spinner. Using this technique the chest is squared up to the bowler and the bat is positioned in front of the front pad. This allows the batsman to react to the turn of the ball by moving the bat laterally. One downside of this approach is that the batsman has to decide early whether to stay side on and attack or chest on and defend.

A chest on batting stance is also known as an "open" or "square on" stance. A notable exponent of chest on batting is Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

External links

* [http://www.coachesinfo.com/category/cricket/28/ Playing spin bowling]

ee also

*Side on
*Bowling action
*Cricket terminology